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"You up for a coffee?" Zach asked as he climbed into the front seat of the car, doing up his belt.
"Yeah, you know what, that sounds great."
We drove over to the little coffee shop, Zach parked the car, and we both hopped out and walked into the shop. Standing in line, I looked around at the faces that filled the place. It was almost my turn to order when I spotted Lexi sitting over in the corner with Ann Marie.
"Hey, I thought your woman was busy with family tonight?" I said to Zach, who was busy looking up at the board trying to decide what he wanted to eat.
He glanced over to where they were sitting and smiled as he waved at her. "Guess she was all finished. Want to join them?"
My stomach sank as I noticed Lexi wipe tears from her cheek and get up from where she was sitting and go into the women’s washroom.
"I guess," I said, frowning after her as I placed my order.
As we stood waiting for our order, Zach watched as Lexi came out of the washroom, eyes red as she looked over toward me and rushed back over to where they were sitting. While Zach and I continued to wait for our coffees, he bumped me with his shoulder and leaned into me. "You better not have hurt her," he said in a hushed tone.
My gut churned as I was handed my coffee cup. "You know, I'm suddenly not feeling all that well. Think I might head back to the house," I said, clearing my throat and looking back over at Lexi as she stared back to me.
"What the fuck, man, you were fine five minutes ago."
I didn't have much to say to that. I just couldn't be here in the same room with Lexi and her brother. "Think you could catch a ride with Ann Marie?" I asked, practically begging for the keys.
"I guess." He shrugged, pulling the keys from his pocket.
"Thanks, man. I'll see you tomorrow." I took the key from his hand, had my coffee put into a to-go cup, and quickly made my way over to the car.
I made it back to the house in no time and went straight to my room, locking the door behind me. I quickly changed and dropped into bed and flipped the TV on and spent the night alone with my thoughts.
The remainder of the week I spent my time in town or with Zach. Every night, by the time dinner was over, I hit my pillow and it was all I could do not to slip across the hall and into Lexi's room. The way Lexi and I looked at one another through dinner or in quiet moments was beginning to weaken whatever strength I still had to stay away from her.
On Thursday night, once I retired to my room, I actually started locking my door. I wasn't sure if I was doing it to keep her from sneaking in throughout the night or to keep me from sneaking out.
Saturday morning, I woke early and stepped out of my room a little after five in the morning to use the washroom. Half asleep, I trudged across the hall and was just about to open the bathroom door when Lexi came out of the room wrapped in nothing but a thin white towel. My eyes dropped down her body as she scurried by me. It was impossible not to watch as she ran back to her room, and it took every fiber of my being not to follow her back into the bedroom, lock her door, and fuck her up against the wall, especially when she turned and practically begged me with her eyes to do just that.
Sunday morning, I joined everyone for breakfast for the first time in a week. I took my usual spot beside Lexi. Zach hadn't come up yet from the basement, Jim was out in the garage getting something out of the freezer, and Barbara had her back turned to the table plating up food. I picked up my coffee mug and took a sip, and that was when I felt a slight tug on my shirt sleeve.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Lexi whispered.
I put my mug down on the table and looked at her, so badly wanting to kiss her and make her worries disappear. I knew that I was getting to her. Hell, I was getting to myself. She tugged at my heart as her sad eyes looked up at me.
"Did I do something wrong?"
How could I answer that? She had done nothing, nothing at all. It was all me and my inner demons. "I'm not. I've just had a lot of things to do for work over the last few days," I lied.
Her eyes fell from mine down to the plate in front of her. "But you locked your door last night," she whispered.
I didn't have an answer for her, and as her sad eyes looked down away from mine and looked to her plate, I knew me staying away from her was hurting her far more than I really knew.
Chapter 21
Alexa
"So what didyou want to get for Drew?" my mother asked as we walked through the craft store.
"Nothing," I whispered, picking up a book on how to knit.
"Alexa! That is not the way we treat members of the family."
Says who?I thought to myself. That is how we treat members of the family who treat members of the family the way he had been treating me lately.
